Episode 6 MasterChef

It's the quarterfinal

and this week's best amateurs are back

to face two more daunting tests.

It's been draining mentally to get here, but, you know, worth it.

I've got to do well competitively to stay here,

so that's my ultimate aim.

I think I need to harden up a bit and

believe in myself.

I'm very aware that one mistake could mean going home.

The level is getting higher and is getting harder

in that kitchen, so I'm just going to keep upping my game.

They've proved themselves good enough to get to a quarterfinal,

but now can they hang on?

Can they stay in the competition?

At the end of this, two more are going home.

The palate and skills test. What are you going to get them to do?

Chicken liver pate, a chutney called onions Madagascar and Melba toast.

One of the skills of a chef

is understanding which dish to make first.

Your timing is paramount.

John starts with the chutney.

The thing that's going to take the longest to cook

are these little onions.

He adds sugar, bay leaves, thyme,

sultanas, vinegar and tomato paste.

Add a good 500ml of water to it.

And that water over the time will eventually evaporate

and then you've got this lovely chutney, lovely soft chutney.

Now to make the pate.

Onions, bacon, chicken livers and butter.

-Livers take no time at all to cook, do they?

-No.

The skill of making the pate

is balancing all the ingredients with the liver.

-Too strong, liver becomes tinny.

-Mmm.

Splash a bit of brandy into it

to give a bit of warmth to the back of your throat.

This is where you've got to puree it.

You know, to be able to make a pate with no recipe,

these are serious skills, John.

Right, that's now ready to add the next lot of butter.

This will make if fluffier,

richer and cool my pate down so you don't need five hours for it to set.

-Now clarified butter.

-Ooh!

-And the butter is there to stop the pate from oxidising.

-Yeah.

-So it doesn't go grey.

-Clever.

That pate's going to take at least ten minutes to set,

so they need to have it in with a good 15 minutes to spare.

Melba toast, take the crusts off.

You split the bread horizontally.

So, I'm rolling my hot split toast on the board

to get rid of the excess bread.

That goes back in the oven to dry for a couple of minutes.

If you toast it, it won't curl,

it will just be flat and toasted crisp bread.

Now to finish the dish.

So, there we have it - my chicken liver pate, Melba toast

and onions Madagascar.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

Mmm. Brilliant.

This is a real test of timing and finesse.

Let's get them in.

John has prepared you a dish.

We want you to taste it, work out what's in it

and then we're going to ask you to make it.

Ten minutes. Off you go.

-DAVID:

-I have made pate before but it was a few years ago,

so I'm going to have to try to remember how I did it.

It is such a difficult test, for sure. Really difficult test.

There's a lot of flavours going on.

I just want to eat it rather than work out what's in it,

cos it's too nice.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have just one hour. Let's cook.

The ingredients have been separated onto three trays -

one for the pate, the chutney and the Melba toast.

Some of the ingredients have not been used by John.

These include lamb's liver and pickled onions.

We have had extensiveness from all our cooks,

and that gives me a bit of comfort, cos they really looked at the dish

and then were testing their palate.

Sofia we've seen, as a cook, deliver some really elegant flavours

but with little mistakes.

I knew it was going to be tough,

but nothing can prepare you for the level of stress that you're under.

I can't decide.

It's not a test I'm confident with at all.

I've never made a pate before in my life.

Finding it hard to identify which liver I'm using

so I'm just going to go with what I feel feels right.

Sofia has decided to use the lamb's liver rather than the chicken liver,

and that's a real shame.

15 minutes has already gone.

David we've seen some really concise cooking from

but his flavour combinations is what we've been questioning.

We believe David's got a lot of skill.

Well, here now he can prove that.

I think I have an OK palate

but whether I can pick up the really subtle flavours within a dish,

we'll see.

Would you pipe that before you chill it?

I can't tell you things like that, David, can I?

Oliver, who was taught by his French mother, understands the basics.

Now all he's got to do is make a classic pate.

It couldn't get more French

if it rode up on a bicycle with a beret on.

Fire!

To have people who know what good food should taste like

and look like say that there's some potential there,

that's an extraordinarily nice feeling.

Is your pate a little wet at the moment

or are you confident it's going to set OK.

I'm happy with that.

I think it's going to firm up a bit as it cools, yeah.

For all Olly's confidence, his pate looks a little runny to me.

And it's full of booze.

You're halfway. You've got 30 minutes left.

Angela can cook, I know that, I know that.

What I'm not convinced is Angela can do timings properly.

And she's got a set time to make this.

I really want to do well today.

I really want to feel proud

and feel like I've given it my absolute best shot.

-You're right with the toast?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Do you know how to make Melba toast?

-I think I do. I think you...

Sh! OK.

My issue with Angela right now is the chutney,

because the chutney isn't really happening for her.

There's just a few little bits in the pot.

How do you make a chutney without huge amounts of flavour?

SHE COUGHS

You've got 15 minutes to go.

Michael takes everyday ingredients

and elevates them to something really, really special.

There isn't a single ingredient I don't like

and I eat a really wide range of foods,

so hopefully that will put me in a pretty good position.

-Are you all right?

-I'm all right, I think.

Does it look like and taste like John's?

It doesn't taste as good as John's.

That's the right answer, right?

You have five minutes.

That's done. Well done.

Pate, Melba toast and onions Madagascar.

Really, the skill was about the toast and the chutney,

the timing and organisation.

The pate, we gave you lamb's fry, or lamb's liver, and chicken livers.

You of course use chicken livers.

Let's start with you, Sofia.

-You know what you've done wrong.

-Yes.

Your pate is really strong, strong of lamb's liver.

It doesn't have very much butter in it.

Your bread's been rolled out and has become more of a crisp bread

and hasn't curled up around the edges

so they're not dainty and soft.

It's a very strong pate,

but lovely sweetness and thyme running through your chutney.

-I could probably eat that, you know.

-Thank you.

I think I got away quite lightly, having never cooked it before.

I couldn't expect any more today.

Michael.

Your pate needs a lot more richness from butter.

It just needs to be a little bit lighter, a little bit fluffier.

Chutney, for me, is far too sweet, not spicy enough.

Why on earth have I got fried bread rather than toast?

I just...I focused more on the first part than the toast part.

-Yeah. Always focus on all bits equally.

-Yeah, quite right.

If I had to do the same test again right now

I think I could get pretty close to what he did,

so, in terms of learning something

from the experience, I most certainly have.

Angela.

-ANGELA:

-Mmm.

Oh, I was so enjoying it.

Oh.

Oh, you could have warned me, Angela.

-I used the pickled onions.

-Oh, really? I just found out.

I've got pickled onion jam.

The pate's lovely, the toast is wonderful,

the chutney is really awful.

Sorry.

I, luckily, didn't have an onion.

Great pate. Really rich, smooth, lovely.

-I'm happy.

-You would be, you didn't have an onion.

I didn't have an onion.

I didn't smell or taste them and go, "Oh, they're quite pickly."

David.

Not bad at all. Great texture on your pate, wonderful toast.

There's way too much thyme in your chutney.

It's really , really overpowering. Saying that, you got it right.

You understood you had to get that chutney on first, you got it on, you did it.

Honestly, to watch you work is magic.

-You've got to get these flavours right, though, David.

-Yeah.

It was a real compliment when John said that he liked to watch me work,

but, you know, I feel like it will mean nothing

if my flavours don't come out right.

Your pate is smooth and more the texture of a parfait

but really rich with brandy.

Your chutney, in my opinion, needs to be cooked down a bit more

with a little bit more sharpness from vinegar.

You're almost there on your Melba toast

but you didn't take the little bits out of the insides.

I like that brandy you've got on the pate.

But, just a word of caution, all right?

You're so close to overdoing it.

Still plenty of things to tighten up and issues to kind of think about.

I'll tell you what, I can't see a lot between them, John.

In fact, very little.

Next up, one exceptional dish from them in 80 minutes.

And, just to mix it up a bit,

we're bringing in a restaurant critic to help us taste,

Charles Campion.

I worked in advertising for, I don't know, 15, 20 years.

Towards the end of the 1980s I said to my wife one evening,

"I think we should sell everything up and go and open a hotel."

I was the chef, my wife was front of house.

We did all this around and about Black Wednesday

and interest rates moved briskly and we lost everything.

I've been a food critic for about 20 years.

It is quite valuable to have done the job

that you are trying to evaluate other people on.

One exceptional dish. 80 minutes to prepare it.

Let's cook.

Five very, very good cooks.

They all know they've got to do something special today

to stay in the competition.

David, what are you making for us?

I'm making you a loin of venison,

celeriac puree, potato and parsnip rosti

and a blackberry and juniper sauce.

Why this dish, David?

You've questioned my palate, so that's...

My main concern here is you eating this and going,

"Yeah, everything on that plate goes with everything else perfect."

The venison has to be cooked perfectly

and the blackberry sauce has got to get the balance right.

It needs to be sharp, but if it's too sharp it will ruin the dish.

Oliver, what is it you're making, then?

Piece of baked salmon, four kinds of herbed focaccia,

three kinds of sauce.

So, how does your fish look? Is it on your bread, is it...?

It's next to it. It's going to look a little plattery.

It's got to be a worry.

It's about four worries about this dish,

and there's one there, there, there and there.

The bread, the dips... with a piece of salmon?

I don't understand how the dish works.

Michael, what's the dish?

So, I'm making a winter vegetable salad.

I'm taking everything that I love that's in season at the moment

and preparing it in a variety of different ways.

-No meat, no fish.

-None.

It is risky, but it's what I like to cook.

He's pureeing things, he's roasting things, he's boiling things,

he's sweating things off, he's making butter emulsions.

Interesting.

40 minutes gone.

-ANGELA:

-My dish is assortment of crab.

I am doing it because crab is my very favourite thing to eat.

We have crab cakes, crab salad, crab mousse,

-and what have I missed off?

-Biscuit.

-And a crab biscuit.

I can do it. I can get it done.

Like, it's really pressurised, but it's great fun when you get in here

and you get cooking, it's fantastic.

And you lose all sense of time.

15 minutes.

What I'm going to make is a Prosecco tempura batter cod

with some baby vegetables and a dill sauce.

There has been a few changes along the way and there's a few things

that I wanted to sort of work out as I went along.

-Best of luck.

-Thank you.

I want it to be like a little theatre of colours and taste

and textures.

I've got my work cut out, for sure.

Just over five minutes left.

Stop! Step away.

We are bringing in a guest to help us taste.

A man whose name can strike fear

into the heart of the very best chefs in the country.

Oh, no.

Restaurant critic and food writer Charles Campion.

Michael, let's see your plate.

Michael's winter salad includes sous-vide carrots,

roasted and pureed butternut squash,

beetroot, cavolo nero, walnuts,

ceps, goat's cheese mousse and a port and wine sauce.

It's a lovely, rounded dish.

Textures of crisp parsnip and crisp beetroot,

soft puree and soft mushroom.

I like the way that the parsnips and the bits and pieces

all give up their sweetness

and you compensate for that

with the cheesy dressing, which is really nice.

I never thought I'd be standing here

bigging up a plate covered in vegetables.

Everything there tastes natural plus.

-Good job.

-Thank you.

This feels like a return to getting some good feedback,

so I'm really pleased.

Angela, your turn.

Angela has made crab cakes, crab mousse,

crab and grapefruit salad and a crab tuile.

She's also used the grapefruit to make a vinaigrette,

jelly and mayonnaise.

Interesting to balance different textures

as well as different tastes.

And I like the mousse. It's got a bit of a kick to it.

This is very jolly.

It's the sort of single-minded dish that I would order.

-I really like it.

-Thank you very much.

What I do really like is the little grapefruit jelly

with the grapefruit segments and the tarragon running through it.

Every individual one of those trio I would happily demolish.

Charles Campion likes my food.

That's fine by me. That's good.

Goodness me.

Oliver's salmon fillet has been topped with sliced cucumber

and served with a selection of herbed focaccia

and a trio of sauces -

tartare, pesto cream and spicy ketchup.

Very good mayo, nice texture. Needs salt in the basil pesto.

If you say it's a spicy tomato ketchup, it needs more spice.

It needs more kick.

Bread doesn't quite hack it, I'm afraid.

It's a little bit on the solid and a little bit not on the light, fluffy,

oil-soaked loveliness.

Sweet bread which is really herbaceous

with salmon which is a bit dry and dips which are a little bit limp.

I don't, for the life of me, see how that makes a dish.

I think, ultimately, I'm a little bit of a victim to overcomplication,

by the sounds of things.

David's dish is loin of venison with celeriac puree, caramelised shallot,

parsnip and potato rosti and a blackberry and juniper sauce.

Perfectly cooked venison, really liked it. Good flavours.

The elements of this dish seem to work together quite well, in my view.

The most original thing is the blackberry sauce,

and, sadly, there ain't enough of it to really get to grips with it.

It's just such a shame because there is real beauty

and real sophistication in your cooking.

I mean that. I can't fault it.

But I want my sauce, son.

Yeah, my proportions were just a little bit wrong,

but hopefully that's something I can rectify.

Sofia's Prosecco tempura cod has been topped with Parma ham crisps

and salmon caviar,

accompanied by potatoes, dill and Prosecco jelly,

samphire, purple carrots, pickled radish and a dill and caper sauce.

I like the fish, I think the fish is very well cooked.

I find the jelly a little bit puzzling.

I think you need a little bit more intensity of flavour there.

I think you could ease up a little bit on the complexity of the dish.

Because nicely cooked fish

with a bit of crispy bacon on the top is a very nice thing in itself.

Like Charles, I'm not really here nor there with the jelly.

And I think Charles is bang on,

I don't know what all the extras are doing on the plate,

what they're adding to the dish.

Everything on there is cooked really well

apart from your potatoes that are undercooked.

It wasn't perfect. I was nervous about it beforehand.

There's a lot of elements to the dish.

But I put it together as well as I can.

-Charles, brilliant. Thanks for your insight.

-Good luck.

-Yeah, thank you.

-Enjoy your decisions, gentlemen.

It's been a wonderful day and there's been some fantastic dishes.

Cook in this room I think with some of the greatest promise is David.

He did exactly what I asked him to do,

and that was to come here and produce a plate of food.

And I just think the guy has got it.

I'm not sure I'm prepared to let Angela go right now.

-I think she's an absolutely lovely cook.

-Good.

Do you know, it's coming straight from the heart.

Angela's in, David's in. Oliver.

-Oh, I'm so disappointed in Oliver.

-So am I.

What was that all about?

What makes it infuriating

is there has been some brilliant dishes from Oliver to this point.

I really want to stay here.

I feel like there's more that can be brought out of me as a cook.

Michael. It was the palate test which got me

because there were just things that weren't quite right.

But Michael's dish of vegetables was a bold move.

Brave, John.

I didn't feel as though I was one of the strongest this morning,

so, you know, it was a game of two halves, I guess.

-Sofia.

-Today she actually didn't do bad.

It was a slightly odd and ill-conceived dish,

but there were some really interesting bits on it.

Palate and skills test where she's using the lamb's liver,

I find her really inconsistent.

You never know. I'm just hoping and praying that I can stay.

I'd love to cook more.

Right, decision time.

No shortage of skill nor talent.

We have decided to take three of you through to the next round.

David.

Angela.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

That leaves just one more place.

The third person through to the next round...

..is Michael.

-OLIVER:

-I'm a bit disappointed of course,

but it's nice to have a little bit of validation for my food.

I couldn't have lost out to more worthy people, cos they were incredible.

Guys, congratulations.

I'm feeling just happy, happy, happy.

To be here still is just the best.

This is the biggest scale thing that I've ever done.

And for it to go well is mind-blowing.

Listen, I'm delighted. I think I'm just shell-shocked.

Now I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board

and find something else to cook now.

Yeah, better do that.

Next week, another 12 hopefuls will fight it out

for a place in the quarterfinals.

OK. Thank you.

We have found a talent.